1) No OKNA general meeting in April

This is a reminder that the Tuesday, April 18 Overlook Neighborhood Association general meeting has been canceled. The board looks forward to seeing everyone in May.

2) N Skidmore Terrace sewer extension begins Monday

Environmental Services, the city’s sewer and stormwater utility, is extending the public sewer system to properties where service is only available through a neighboring property. This is most commonly referred to as a party sewer connection. Under N Skidmore Terrace, this project will install 540 feet of main line sewer pipe, three new manholes, and branch connections to ten properties allowing them to make direct connections the public sewer. This project will help protect public health, water quality, and our environment.

N Skidmore Terrace is a narrow street, and traditional open trench construction would significantly limit the ability of drivers to use the road during construction. In order to increase driver access during construction, crews will use a trenchless method called horizontal directional drilling or directional boring.

Construction hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, but the contractor may schedule work during the same hours on Saturdays.

3) I-5 closures begin this weekend

The first of four full weekend closures of Interstate 5 in one direction between the Marquam Bridge and North Broadway is underway in the southbound direction. Lanes closed last night and will re-open at 4:30 a.m. Monday. Travelers should make plans now to avoid delays on detour routes. In addition to the southbound closure, crews will close one northbound lane of I-5.

During the I-5 southbound closure, travelers will be diverted to I-405 southbound to reach I-5 south of downtown. A lane of I-5 south will be open for travelers to access I-84 east. Congestion is expected around I-5 in the central city during the closures. Travelers should consider using other routes or taking transit, depending on their travel plans.

The remaining weekend closures of Interstate 5 will take place from 10 p.m. Friday to 4:30 a.m. Monday on the following weekends:

April 21-24 (southbound)

May 5-8 (northbound)

May 12-15 (northbound)

Closing I-5 during the weekends will allow a contractor to perform concrete repairs underneath the Burnside Bridge, which spans lanes of the freeway. Areas of the concrete are degraded and at risk of falling on the freeway. This work is part of Multnomah County’s Burnside Bridge Maintenance project. The closures will also allow ODOT crews to do work on the closed section of freeway, including paving, survey, electrical, inspection and seismic work.

4) Portland Police Bureau launches open data portal

The Portland Police Bureau has revamped the data portion of its website to be more user-friendly. Community members can view reported crime statistics and download open data at portlandoregon.gov/police/OpenData. An interactive dashboard on the site allows users to view monthly reported crime statistics by Portland neighborhood. The dashboard and open dataset will be updated on a monthly basis with the previous month’s data.

The data includes all offenses reported in Portland since May 2015. The dashboard allows a user to filter and customize analyses based on a variety of factors including neighborhood, month and offense. Users can download the open data, an image or PDF using the Download Open Data tab on the dashboard.

5) Contacting neighbors about development

Are you curious about how residents and businesses are informed when new development is proposed in their neighborhoods? Would you like to help rethink the process for notifying community members about that?

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability invites community members to be part of an informal “sounding board” group to help shape possible revisions to the Neighborhood Contact requirements.